GB Values

Red Shield

The Red shield’s credibility was built over the years through hard work and excellence shown by the Gracie Barra students, athletes and instructors involved in sport Jiu-Jitsu competitions, teaching programs and community work.

Fight Song

Sea of Red

Wearing the red shirt is saying it loudly to the world: I BELIEVE IN GRACIE BARRA.

The Red Shirt seeks to promote a sense of unity among the members of the GB team around the world. It promotes unity, support, equality, identity, philosophy and proud of being part of GB team. Wearing the red shirt is saying: I am part of GB Team.

Founder

Reg Directors

The develop- ment of Gracie Barra’s presence in a new territory starts through the work of a leader. Expansion and movement into different territories or areas usually starts with one school, then eventually spreads out to several other locations as students of the originating school decide to follow in the steps of their mentors.

Senior Ranks

The Gracie Barra Legacy Award was created by Master Carlos Gracie Jr. as recognition for the loyalty, support, commitment, and hard work of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu professors who have been working to build Gracie Barra for 25 years or more.

Professors

The Gracie Barra legacy is one of many champions built by great Professors and Masters. Beyond the Jiu-Jitsu contest arena. Lessons taught by our instructors have impacted positively the lives of hundreds of communities and thousands of people over the years.

Instructors

Gracie Barra Instructors are held responsible to high standards of etiquette, instruction and philosophy set by Master Carlos Gracie Jr. and the Gracie Barra Association. To maintain the integrity and focus on safety in our schools, all of our instructors are certified. Additionally, our instructors are all required to be CPR/Basic First Aid certified.

Athletes

Athletics within Gracie Barra builds community and pride through the engagement of students, staff, parents, and friends, and creates a portal through which everyone can enjoy the GB experience. Successful athletic performance generates a unique excitement across the Gracie Barra Schools and community, help strengthen bonds among the various arms of our organization, build students loyalty in a healthy manner, and give Gracie Barra members yet another reason to be proud to represent the legacy of Master Carlos Gracie Jr. and defend the red shield.

Benefits

GB Learning

Gracie Barra is always trying to find an even better way to broaden our students’ experiences beyond the perimeters of a GB school. That’s why the leaders of our team around the world are always looking to expand our team’s philosophy through events, camps, Jiu-Jitsu competitions and conferences. Our European leader, Professor Victor Estima is doing a fabulous job of integration, union and expansion in the year of 2017. Earlier this year we were champions of the European Championship and right after accomplishing that, Victor visited several countries leading the regional conferences in Europe. Last month we had the Summer Camp in Spain, a super successful event that gathered members from all over Europe and also other continents for a week of learning and fellowship with big names from the Gracie Barra Jiu-Jitsu. Towards the end of the year, the 3˚ Degree black belt is working hard to launch the
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To get good at jiu-jitsu is a long process. Between moments of success (ex. A gold medal in a tournament or new belt promotion) there are many periods where the student of jiu-jitsu is working hard to improve. Many students experience periods where they feel that they are not making progress. It can be a frustrating feeling. The truth is that if one is attending class regularly, making an effort to drill and apply the instructor’s techniques and has a decent level of physical fitness, the student IS making progress. So why the common feeling that you are not getting better? 1) Your training partners are improving along with you! Class by class you are adding pieces to build your jiu-jitsu game. How to escape certain positions, you are making fewer mistakes that lead to you ending up.in.bad positions or surrendering submissions. The other students are also improving and tightening
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Many students ask me about the origins of Gracie Barra and how it is different than the other schools that bear the Gracie family name. Let us begin with the birth of Master Carlos Gracie Jr. on January 17, 1956. Carlos Jr. grew up in the large family and spent many hours learning jiu-jitsu with uncles and cousins on the outdoor mats in the family compound. In he legendary Teresópolis House, located in the mountains close Rio de Janeiro the family would spend time together and of course jiu-jitsu was a main activity for all of the young children running around. Master Carlos Gracie Jr. credits the late Rolls Gracie – who is considered one of the main minds behind the innovation and development of Gracie Jiu-jitsu – with being his main influence. Tragically Rolls Gracie died a premature death in a hang gliding accident. That left the young Carlos Gracie Jr. to
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Every class at Gracie Barra includes some training in standup techniques. Understanding how to get the fight to the ground is an important part of having well rounded jiu-jitsu skills. It is one thing to drill techniques cooperating with your training partner, it is significantly more difficult to throw an opponent when is doing their best to avoid your takedown. First, you want to understand the mechanics and details of a few high percentage takedowns that you feel comfortable attempting. The second step is you need to employ some strategy and principles that will make the takedown more effective. Here are 3 tips to make your takedowns more effective: 1) Break your opponent’s balance first! The term “kuzushi” in Japanese means the breaking of the opponent’s balance. This is one of the most important concepts of judo. When your opponent is in a solid, defensive stance they are very difficult
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This week Gracie Barra looks at more advanced techniques from the back position. Definitely not for beginners! Here are 5 videos by GB instructors on how to get to the back mount and how to attack from there. First, let’s see some methods of catching the back position. More advanced belts tend to get to the back position immediately after a guard pass. the Xguard to rolling back take Once you are in the rear mount position you can look at some more advanced submission setups to catch your opponent’s by surprise. from the back / Triangulo partindo da pegada das costas Armlock from the back
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The Red Shield : Value of a Team The proud symbol of the Gracie Barra schools all over the world is called by some “the Red Shield”. Designed many years ago, Master Carlos Gracie Jr. It represents the unified purpose of the Gracie Barra team members. Why is it important for jiu-jitsu students to be part of a team? There are many reasons. Many jiu-jitsu students have some of their best memories from competing with the support of their teammates behind them. Cheering for their training partners in their own matches. Sharing both the sweet taste of victory with a medal on the podium and learning from defeats. These shared experiences galvanize the sense of team and belonging. Basketball coach Phil Jackson (who coached all time great players Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant) lead teams to multiple NBA Titles. Coach Jackson explained one of the most motivations of talented, multi
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Some guard styles tend to suit students with longer legs ex. Spider Guard while other equally skilled (but with shorter legs) players prefer the deep half guard. Which guard do you prefer? Here are 5 videos by GB instructors on different guard styles may provide some new ideas to try in your jiu-jitsu game la Riva Sweep / Raspagem partindo da De La Riva The DLR guard is great against standing passers and some advanced students create their entire guard game around this guard style. This is the first and most important sweep to learn from DLR. half Guard Head instructor at GB HQ in Irvine Prof. Philipe shows us how to sweep from under the deep half guard position. I’ve seen many smaller jiu-jitsu students have success with getting underneath their larger training partners and breaking their balance with this guard.
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The All Or Nothing Mentality “Discipline and consistency. I owe these two factors all have attained in my life. Things have never happened overnight. Results have appeared as a consequence of decades long toil. It is necessary to persist.” Carlos Gracie Jr. Do you have a training partner who has an “All or nothing” mentality when it comes to training BJJ? For example : The guy is either training 2 x day / 7 days per week OR has gone completely absent from the academy for weeks if not months at a time. Some of these guys seem to be in a perpetual state of “getting back into it” and trying to regain a previous level after a prolonged layoff. Unfortunately, they encounter discouragement when training partners who they “used to beat” have now improved and turned the tables. This can be tough on the ego! Another form of discouragement
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Students of jiu-jitsu who attend class regularly and follow the guidance of their instructor make the best long term progress. Having a qualified black belt instructor can save one literally years of trial error trying to figure things out. It is important however for BJJ students to take a proactive roll in their learning. Jiu-jitsu addicts will look for many different sources to learn from. The Gracie Barra teams around the world have YouTube channels where instructors share technique variations with everyone. Check out the weekly GB Blog posts where GB features techniques from a different position. One of the most important things a jiu-jitsu student can do to both widen and deepen their understanding of jiu-jitsu is experiment. Experiment with: ~ new open guard styles. Which open guard of the many different types will stick with you and become your favorite guard game? One of my black belt friends
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Be An Ambassador For Jiu-jitsu Since the early days of Brazilian jiu-jitsu first spreading outside the country of origin Brasil and throughout the world, jiu-jitsu culture has evolved along with the techniques of the art themselves. The Gracie Barra philosophy of “Jiu-jitsu for everyone” is a significant factor behind the world wide expansion of the art. In the earlier days of jiu-jitsu in North America, BJJ was synonymous with “No Holds Barred”, the “Vale Tudo” fighting roots in Brasil. The first wave of jiu-jitsu schools were filled with tough guys with cauliflower ears and intensely competition oriented. While these academies produced legitimately tough guys they were also limited. The GB Instructors course describes this approach as “Jiu-jitsu for a few.” Unfortunately, jiu-jitsu suffered from an image problem in Brasil in the early days as a number of jiu-jitsu fighters were involved in violent street confrontations. Since those early days and
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